The present invention relates to an iron type golf club head, and in particular, to an iron type golf club head having a single skid member formed on the sole. With conventional golf club heads, a substantial portion of the club sole engages the ground surface during the execution of a shot, causing the club head to decelerate considerably and to torque, or turn because of the resistance encountered. This is particularly true when a ball is lying in a less than ideal position, such as a divot depression, rough, heavy grass, hard or rocky ground, a sandtrap or other naturally occurring areas other than a closely cut fairway.
Prior art golf clubs which use sole configurations to lessen contact with the sole with the ground surface include those to Scott (U.S. Pat. No. 1,531,821), Stumpf (U.S. Pat. No. 1,913,821), Golden (U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,013), Sano (U.S. Pat. No. 3,068,011), Gordos (U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,133), and Crow (U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,388). All of these are not iron type golf clubs, they are wood type golf clubs which have relatively flat sole surfaces to which a plurality of runners or shaped individual runners are added to the club head. The structures also raise the entire club head, including the leading edge of the club head above the ground surface, which requires that the club be swung in a sweeping fashion in order to eliminate the bounce which would be encountered when the runners initially hit the ground. Although this arrangement works with wood type golf club heads, it is a disadvantage for iron type golf club heads, which, for best results, require the leading edge to penetrate the ground surface during the execution of a shot. Having the leading edge of the iron club raised would not allow the club head to easily get below the ball in order for it to make proper contact on the ball striking face adjacent the center of percussion. The resulting bounce will cause the club head to strike the ball nearer the bottom of the club head, resulting in an undesirable bladed, or skulled shot, which a golfer cannot control.